He’s taken on many major Hollywood roles, but Danny Glover’s biggest gig is being a dad to daughter Mandisa Glover.
Born in 1976, Mandisa is the only child of Danny and Asake Bomani, who wed in 1975 and divorced in 2000.
“I had a father who I thought was a prince … The sense of presence and the way he took on the responsibility of caring for the family, all those things I was able to take with me into fatherhood,” Danny said in an interview with fathers’ rights attorney Jeffery Leving in 2009. “And, even though some things I think I could have done differently, hopefully, those would have had some sort of impact on my daughter, and our relationship is a testimony that it has had some impact on her.”
Mandisa grew up in San Francisco, the same city her father was raised in. Now based in New York City, Mandisa had a couple of small roles in the film world, but she has largely concentrated on a career in the food industry. She is a chef and regularly posts about the meals she cooks online.
Another frequent subject on her Instagram? Her son, Adesola. Mandisa is close with her son and her father, who both appear on her social media accounts.
“Short and Sweet of it all Son thank you for being the glue Dad I will always hold your hand,” she wrote on Instagram in March 2024, adding the hashtag “#gloverlove.”
Here’s everything to know about Danny Glover’s daughter, Mandisa Glover.
Mandisa, whose name means “sweet,” is the only child of Danny and his first wife, Bomani.
Bomani ran an art gallery and encouraged Danny to pursue acting as a career. They wed in 1975 and welcomed Mandisa on Jan. 5, 1976. They then divorced in 2000.
Like Danny, Mandisa was born and raised in San Francisco. The Glover family home was a Victorian located in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, eight blocks from where Danny grew up.
When she was younger, Mandisa performed in plays with the Western Addition Culture Center B.E.S. According to her LinkedIn profile, she studied history and French at Mills College and San Francisco State University. A 1999 Associated Press interview with Danny also cited her as a senior that year at New York University. She now lives in New York City.
Mandisa is mom to one child, son Adesola, who was born on Jan. 15, 2004.
“I am so proud of the man you are. You are the best gift greatest joy in my life,” she wrote on Instagram in 2024 in honor of her son’s 20th birthday.
In 2022, she shared on Instagram that Adelosa, who also goes by Ade, was starting a new chapter in life and she had experienced “a day of joy and a day of tears” when she “dropped off my best friend Someone who captured my heart 18 1/2 years ago” in Baltimore.
Danny is a proud grandfather to Ade. When asked in an African American Literature Book Club interview if he was happy, The Color Purple star cited his grandson as the reason why he was.
“I'm a grandfather, and I'm in love with him … I'm trying to insert myself in his life every way I can. And he knows it,” Danny said of his then-4-year-old grandson, who he called his “running partner.”
Mandisa has gone all in on cooking.
She documents the decadent, multicultural meals she makes for clients on Instagram, which have included private dinners and wedding tastings. She shares photos when she cooks for friends and family as well, like when her son visited in 2022.
“Guess who came to town for the weekend,” she captioned an Instagram slideshow that included a selfie with her son and a photo of their meal. “My Shining Star Had to make him Shrimp and Grits and Fried Shrimp What a wonderful weekend Bless.”
Her Shef profile discusses the food diversity she experienced gro -
wing up in San Francisco.
“I ate my way from Mexico to Malaysia and from Nigeria to Thailand, Senegal, and Peru, all within 30 blocks,” she wrote. “I had the fortune of sitting with friends abuelas and babas from around the world who showed me techniques to make the food unique to each region of the world. I enjoy food and I enjoy sharing food and knowing that when you eat you will be pleased.”
According to LinkedIn, she previously worked as a project manager and assistant at Gumbo et Tous and is the owner of AlileAixe.
While she hasn’t acted on the big screen like her dad, Mandisa did dabble in the film industry.
According to her IMDb profile, she worked as a staff assistant on 1998’s You’ve Got Mail and as a set costumer on 2020’s The Drummer.
Mandisa has attended a few red carpet events with her famous father.
She joined her dad for the Los Angeles premieres of Listen Up: Lives of Quincy Jones and Predator 2, both in 1990, and the father-daughter duo was photographed at the 2000 Essence Awards in N.Y.C. and Showtime’s annual preview luncheon in 2002.
When she was younger, Mandisa visited her dad at work, including a trip to the set of Silverado in 1985.
In 1999, Danny spoke out about cab injustice in N.Y.C. Mandisa, who was a senior at New York University at the time, was by his side at his news conference.
Danny said he believed he had difficulty getting taxis due to his skin color. He reached a breaking point when he was visiting Mandisa from San Francisco, and he and his daughter were subject to two alleged discriminatory incidents just hours apart as they tried to hail cabs. The second incident led him to file a formal complaint with the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC).
"The fact that my daughter's here to go to school, it really upsets me that if she's standing on the corner waiting to get a cab, she can't get a cab...it happens to her, it happens to countless people every single day,” he said, according to The New York Times. “The fact that I'm a celebrity, the fact that I'm visible, allows me to draw attention to this."
The discrimination claim led to a crackdown across the city on unequal passenger practices.
Mandisa has shared sweet tributes to both of her parents on social media over the years.
Many of her posts are throwback photos. One in May 2024 showed her father with a huge grin on his face as he carried a young Mandisa on his back. Another in 2021 was a solo photo of Danny she said she loved because she felt it reflected “just how cool he is.”
“My dad What can I say about you without filling up a whole page,” she wrote on Instagram. “You are the best representation of pure love. You are gracious generous GooD and KinD I am blessed we are blessed to have you.”
While he may not be on social media, Danny does shower his daughter with love offline. On Valentine’s Day 2023, Mandisa posted a photo of the flowers he sent her. The card attached read, “To a wonderful Mother and Daughter!!! Love, Dad.”
“And he Did It Again My Dad The Man Always showing his love and care,” Mandisa wrote on Instagram.
Mandisa has proudly posted about booking modeling gigs in her 40s, and she’s participated in shows in N.Y.C.
She shared her makeup look from Brooklyn Fashion Week in October 2021, and two months later, she modeled in two events for Adrian Alicea.
Mandisa has also attended New York Fashion Week events as a guest, including Edwing D’Angelo’s presentation in 2022.
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